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Monday, 29 July 2013

Knitting has become wildly popular in our home since the arrival of our Art Viva knitting needles to Spiral Garden. Each of our children have a pair that they knit with and particularly taken with learning the skill is our middle daughter who has only just turned seven. Although it's never too early or late to learn,around six seems to be just right for beginning, as many Waldorf/Steiner schools will agree.

Our daughter has been knitting for a little while. First on big, chunky needles, but has moved to our size 5 Art Viva needles. They are short in length, so perfect for small arms to use and small enough to be portable too. She's found the more regular size needle easier to use than a chunky needle for creating knitting projects she wants to make.

There's still a way to go before her knitting is perfect, but the leaps she's making with co-ordination and concentration are amazing. And it gives her a little something calming and quiet to do as she works with her hands. She still says the little rhyme we use to help her remember and it's so gorgeous to hear her mutter it under her breath, over and over, as she works...

Thursday, 18 July 2013

Modelling beeswax is a fantastic medium for inspiring creativity. It's often used in Waldorf/Steiner education, particularly to illustrate storytelling and to engage younger children in an activity that requires and creates warmth. Beeswax is a beautiful material to hold and it has the most gorgeous, nurturing fragrance. It doesn't dry or crack, but can be re-worked over an over again as needed.

We sat down last week, on a rainy/sunny Tasmanian mid-winter's day, to spend some time connecting, chatting and playing with our beeswax colours, relishing the smell and the warmth as we moulded shapes in our hands.

To begin with, we cut our beeswax ingots into quarters with a warm, sharp knife. We only needed a small portion each for todays handwork, so we set aside the rest in their tins.

We dropped our small pieces of wax into cups of warm water for a few minutes to soften.

Then slowly, gently began to squeeze and stretch our malleable beeswax, warming our hands as we worked.

Bandicoots and turtles were the order of the day as the shapes appeared at our fingertips... Followed by an afternoon of imaginative play as modellers became wildlife carers. And such is the magic of this beautiful medium.

Handmade in Canada, using all natural ingredients and in a variety of colours, we're really proud to be selling this gorgeous product in sets of 12 or six, with beautiful reusable tins and gift bags or boxes. They make a fantastic gift, or something special for days at home, just like ours.